I've been sharing this screenshot around so I'm placing it here as well. Also it's been some time since we've done a comprehensive blogpost (like these). Is there anything you'd like us to write about?

I think in this latest screenshot the UI elements are a bit too small. Maybe try to update with some more clarity or contrast? I really like this zoomed out view and having that huge sea creature so close makes me think you would need to fight it in some way? You've really come a long way with this game.

When I first saw the image, I thought I was looking at a large ship wreckage at the bottom of the sea. Seeing something similar to the Titanic in size would be interesting (especially with the chimneys sticking out that would need to be avoided).

Seeing airplanes at a sunken airport would give a surreal feeling of "those should be up in the sky, flying ... not down there below).

I think in this latest screenshot the UI elements are a bit too small. Maybe try to update with some more clarity or contrast? I really like this zoomed out view and having that huge sea creature so close makes me think you would need to fight it in some way? You've really come a long way with this game.

UI is something that will be iterated upon later. Right now we're focusing on getting everything in. Any particular parts that are too small? Because we were thinking about making some items smaller.

<snip>When I first saw the image, I thought I was looking at a large ship wreckage at the bottom of the sea. Seeing something similar to the Titanic in size would be interesting (especially with the chimneys sticking out that would need to be avoided).

Seeing airplanes at a sunken airport would give a surreal feeling of "those should be up in the sky, flying ... not down there below).

Exactly! That's the feeling we want to give to the player, that of a forgotten, sunken world. We just started working on that so there's a lot of work left for wazeau and Juwdah. Wazeau did write about it here btw. Cool suggestions like the airport are always welcome as well!

@mirrorfish: Thanks man! I could eat my shirt sometimes though, getting that vibe with a small team is usually making sacrifices here and there.

@DrHogan: I was always wondering, because we share lots of different things, is it an easy progress to follow? Is there anything you'd like to see a gif from? As devs we easily lose touch on what we have shared and blatantly obvious things we haven't.

Here's some tests with an animation system that detects collision with the water:

Is this the first time you share a gif of the characters diving or jumping into the water? The animation looks really nice!

Yeah, I think it is actually.We had a talented animator here for a couple of months and she made a lot of tests trying to get some fun, fitting to the style, quirky animations in there, one those is the gif

I also got a superlong but fishy export script that exports all models seperately, but I'm not sure if it's that great.I'm just a beginner at scripting, so if you find a blender--->unity tool or script, fire away

If there are no major issues, then that's "good enough".

I exported a few models with skeleton/armature and it seemed like that the models stayed "upright" (rather than as someone put it falling on it's face). Right now I'm mainly focusing on creating procedurally animating characters based on a few keyframes so I only need to local bone rotations. For that I create the animations in Blender and get the keyframes after export the animation.

We'll see later if I need a different approach for creating/eporting the models.

@JuwdahI remembered another animation that is sort of sea related. The style is very different, but in terms of ideas/inspiration: could be useful to create an intro scene for "How we ended up here". Or expanding the world as: Flotsam: The Musical!The Tale of How

Exactly! That's the feeling we want to give to the player, that of a forgotten, sunken world. We just started working on that so there's a lot of work left for wazeau and Juwdah. Wazeau did write about it here btw. Cool suggestions like the airport are always welcome as well!

Thanks for the link. That answered my question regarding suggestions i.e. is the game world set on Earth or closer to an alternate fantasy reality. Since it's closer but not exactly "reality", Regardless, a sunken amusement would still work. In terms of design, the ferris wheel, bumper cars and various "attraction shacks" are very similar repeating elements so A roller coaster might take a bit more time though. In terms of gameplay, there could a "RNG" chance: the ferris wheel and bumper cars could give a reasonably predictable amount of resources, but the luck factor at the "attraction shacks" would be higher. You might find something valuable or not. Or it could be a spectrum: i.e. the chance of finding something of small value is higher than that of great value.Also, since the game is closer to reality, I wonder if having certain buildings that look similarish-but-not-the-same as real building could work. I'm imagining a tower that looks similar to the Eiffel tower or the Colosseum, etc.

Regarding conventions: other than the banner, do you use other game related props?

Maybe, you could have something inflatable (boat or small pool with only the sides inflated) and people would get an "immersive" experience.

The downside might be safety considerations as it could be a "tripping hazard". In that case, the idea could work as a "sharable funny pic" if you set it up in the office:"This is how we develop Flotsam" Of course, with a few similar summer clothing props ... such as a straw hat.

@JuwdahI remembered another animation that is sort of sea related. The style is very different, but in terms of ideas/inspiration: could be useful to create an intro scene for "How we ended up here". Or expanding the world as: Flotsam: The Musical!The Tale of How

That animation is blissfully weird! I really like how they did the waves.Telling the story is something to consider but atm we want to keep what happened a "mystery", so that the player himself can fill in the blanks. We will give hints as to how we see it with things like graffiti decals on above-water points of interest.

Maybe, you could have something inflatable (boat or small pool with only the sides inflated) and people would get an "immersive" experience.

The downside might be safety considerations as it could be a "tripping hazard". In that case, the idea could work as a "sharable funny pic" if you set it up in the office:"This is how we develop Flotsam" Of course, with a few similar summer clothing props ... such as a straw hat.

For now we only have the conventional banner, stickers, etc.We were thinking of unique stuff to use that portrays the game (except trash, that'd be a downer to play next to) and have quite a few ideas. Things like your boat idea seem really cool, but I'm afraid it might repel certain people who would want to try the game in a relaxed environment. I prefer the props to be low-key.

We could start taking painted 3D-prints with us, which could actually be interesting even for outsiders to check out.

Oh, forgot to mention. Regarding post topics, I'd be interested in a "progress report". Something along the lines of what has been implemented, what remains to do. Possibly, what has changed from the beginning - e.g. no longer applicable.